by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA - From the moment Chip Kelly arrived in the NFL last spring as a hotshot college coach full of fresh ideas, his reputation has been so connected to speed.

Sure enough, as the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for an NFC wild-card playoff against the New Orleans Saints on Saturday night, there is no faster offense in the NFL than the one fashioned by Kelly.

The Eagles ran one play for every 23.8 seconds during the regular season.

It works.

They also set franchise records for yards (417.3), points (27.6) and TDs (53) - the latter mark standing since 1948.

But now there's a different backdrop with the NFL playoffs, which traditionally produces tighter games and an increased appreciation for ball-control as an essential element for winning.

At least that's the traditional perception.

We know what Kelly - who reminded reporters this week he has indeed coached in January before, with Oregon during bowl season - thinks about NFL tradition.

He has no ties to how it used to be done - and no fear of doing it his way.

That's what's so refreshing about Kelly.

Yet still, the Eagles style fuels an intriguing subplot. Philadelphia ranked dead-last in the NFL for average time of possession (26 minutes, 24 seconds), nearly six minutes less than the rate for the San Diego Chargers, who led the NFL in that category and defeated the Eagles in Week 2.

The Saints, with a flashy offense of their own, ranked second at 32:41.

Maybe that will be a swing factor amid the wind-chill on at The Linc. Teams ranking near the bottom with Philadelphia in T.O.P. - Jacksonville, Buffalo and Cleveland among them - wished they had the ball longer. Of the bottom 10, the Eagles were the only team to make the playoffs.

Then again, the bumbling Detroit Lions ranked third, and you see where it got them.

"We don't need to change," Eagles center Jason Kelce told USA TODAY Sports. "You keep playing ball the way you got there. You are who you are. If it helps you win games in the regular season, I don't think you change who you are in the postseason."

When someone asked Kelly whether he wants his offense to improve with its tempo (read: faster) this week, he shot back with a stock reply similar to something he said weeks earlier.

"I think we can get better in every game," said Kelly, whose squad won the NFC East crown by winning seven of eight games after a 3-5 start.

"It's just like asking me, 'Are you happy with your tackling?' I think we can be better in tackling. I think we can be better in tempo. I think we can be better in blocking. I think we can be better in catching. I think we can be better in everything. So we're never going to be happy."

Tempo is only part of the deal. In recent weeks, the Eagles have actually played with a slower pace, which reflects the versatile system Kelly has talked about wanting all along. It's situational football. One game could be dominated by a no-huddle attack, another by power football and jumbo formations.

For all of the sizzle with the no-huddle and the deep rainbows heaved by emerging star quarterback Nick Foles, the Eagles can also line up and stuff their top-ranked rushing attack - albeit often with the misdirection element of zone-reads - down the throat of an opposing defense.

That's what can happen when there's a wondrous tailback like LeSean McCoy and a cohesive offensive line that fields five starters who have started all 16 games. Last year, that same O-line was down three starters for much of the season, due to injuries.

Now, they are clicking on all cylinders.

"It's just a matter of getting in shape, dropping a few pounds and getting your body right for that tempo," left tackle Jason Peters told USA TODAY Sports.

When Peters, 6-4, 328, talks of dropping a few pounds, it is a relative term.

He lost 35 pounds last offseason, while battling back from his second torn Achilles.

"I didn't plan on losing that much," he said. "It just happened."

During the stretch run, though, there have been more opportunities to catch a breath between plays. As McCoy averaged 119.6 rushing yards per game over the final five regular season contests in December, it's striking to note he didn't have fewer second-half rushes than first-half rushes in any of the games. That's indicative of a willingness and ability to put games away - even if means chewing up time on the clock.

Still, speed is the ticket in more ways than one for Kelly.

He is the first rookie coach in Eagles history to claim a division title - and second in the NFL since the merger. Barry Switzer, who also made his name in the college game, did it with the Dallas Cowboys in 1994.

Now that's fast.

Other items to ponder:

The Big Chill: With the road to Super Bowl XLVIII arriving at MetLife Stadium in a few weeks -- with the possibility of blizzard conditions -- it may seem fitting the playoffs will open with Ice Bowl II. Forecast highs for Sunday in Green Bay are as low as minus-5 degrees, with a low projected near minus-20. And the wind chill factor for the 49ers-Packers game? They're talking about something as low as minus-35. Ouch. Ball-handling and the willingness of receivers to catch bullets from Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick loom as huge X-factors.

And with the Chargers visiting Cincinnati, where it will be cold but not quite like Green Bay, what a fine time to reminisce about a second-coldest games in NFL history -- the Freezer Bowl (Chargers-Bengals, 1981 AFC title game), with a temperature at kickoff of nine degrees, with a wind-chill of -59. The Packers-Cowboys Ice Bowl (1967 NFL title game) had a temperature of minus-13 and wind-chill of minus-48. So there's your context. Brrrrr.

An Omen? In the parlance of the Chinese New Year, which officially kicks off at the end of the month, 2014 is the Year of the Horse. This has to be a great sign for the top-seeded Denver Broncos. The stars are aligning themselves for a big finish.

Then again, maybe this all applies for the fourth-seeded Indianapolis Colts - who enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak and lurk as a tough out in the AFC playoffs. And how's this for another omen: In each of the past three years, the Super Bowl champion played in the wild-card round. In any event, the horses could meet in the divisional playoffs if the home teams both win in this weekend's AFC matchups. But first things first.

Who's hot: McCoy.

The most complete back in football, with his freshly-minted rushing title, 2,100 yards from scrimmage and an undeniable comfort zone behind arguably the NFL's best offensive line. It should also be noted McCoy, 5-11, 208, has tallied 366 touches and held up. He played on 79% of Philadelphia's fast-tempo snaps - and got stronger down the stretch. Three of his NFL-high seven 100-yard games - including the franchise-record 217-yard outburst in the snow against Detroit - came in December.

Pressure's on: Dom Capers.

In three games against the 49ers since the start of the 2012 season, the Packers D-coordinator has seen his unit shredded for an average of 483 yards and 36 points - while generating just one turnover. Now his 25th-ranked unit tries again without its best playmaker, injured linebacker Clay Matthews. A big headache could come with Kaepernick. In the divisional playoff game last year, Kaepernick set an NFL record for quarterbacks by rushing for 181 yards. In the season opener in September, he threw for a career-high 412 yards. Now what?

Rookie watch: Eric Reid.

The second safety drafted (18th overall), Reid's transition from LSU has undoubtedly benefited from the talented surrounding cast of the 49ers. But the free safety has done his part, too. Significantly enough, he has avoided the rash of penalty flags that inflicted his predecessor, Dashon Goldson. Yet with the 49ers allowing 740 passing yards the past two weeks, a huge test comes from Rodgers and a big-play passing attack that could view a rookie in the middle of the field as fresh meat.

Key matchup: Branden Albert vs. Robert Mathis.

Albert, the Kansas City Chiefs' left tackle who was named recently to his first Pro Bowl, didn't play in the Week 16 meeting since he was nursing a knee injury. Mathis collected a sack and two forced fumbles, while primarily working against second-year backup Donald Stephenson in the Colts' recent win at Kansas City. It appears that Albert will be good to go on Saturday, given his full participation in practices this week. And he'll have his hands full. Mathis is the first recipient of the Deacon Jones Award, which the NFL established this year to honor the late Hall of Famer with a trophy for the sack champ. Mathis led the league with a franchise-record 19½ sacks - most ever by a player 32 years or older. And he also led the NFL with eight forced fumbles, with his strip-sack becoming his signature art. Add the degree of difficulty in containing the Colts linebacker goes up a notch when considering the Lucas Oil Stadium noise.

Next man up: Andy Mulumba.

With Matthews still on the shelf with his broken thumb, the Packers rookie linebacker from Eastern Michigan draws another big assignment in the effort to slow the roll of the 49ers. It may be unrealistic to expect a backup to generate the type of heat Matthews provides, but someone has to try. It may be even more critical, though, for Mulumba (6-3, 260) to help plug the leaks of a 25th-ranked run defense that must match up against one of the NFL's best rushing attacks.

Did you notice? New Orleans running backs Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles combined for 148 receptions during the regular season. Thomas' career-high 77 catches for 513 yards led all running backs, while Sproles' 71 grabs ranked fourth. Two of the other backs ranked among the top five at their position - San Diego's Danny Woodhead (76) and Kansas City's Jamaal Charles (70) - are also playing this weekend.

Stat's the fact: The Bengals have not won a playoff game since toppling the Houston Oilers, 41-14, in an AFC wild-card game in the 1990-91 season. During the course of Cincinnati's 0-5 drought over the next 22 years, every other team in the NFL has won at least one playoff game.